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146th Kentucky Derby Betting Odds
While you can bet on horse racing year-round, the sport really comes alive on the first Saturday of May. That’s when the first leg of the Triple Crown is run in Louisville, Kentucky at historic Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Derby is the most prestigious horse race in the United States. Since 1875, the finest thoroughbreds in the world have descended upon Louisville to find out which three-year-old is the fastest, and over 100,000 people will flock to the spectacle to sip on mint juleps and cheer on the ponies too.
The 2020 Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Saturday, May 2. As is the case every year, the action at Churchill Downs can be seen live on NBC.
2020 Kentucky Derby at a Glance
Race Distance: 1 1/4 Miles
Record: 1:59.40 (Secretariat, 1973)
Purse: $3 Million
Qualification: Three-year-old thoroughbreds
The qualification process just to get into the Kentucky Derby is an extensive one for sure. Horses amass Derby Points over the course of their two- and three-year-old seasons, and the ones who ultimately reach at least 40 points or so end up finding their way into the field at Churchill Downs if their connections choose to race them there.
The closer the Kentucky Derby gets, the more Derby Points each race is worth. The Santa Anita Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, Arkansas Derby, Wood Memorial, Louisiana Derby, UAE Derby and Florida Derby are the biggest races, worth 100 points to the winner and 40 points to the second place finishers, and all of the colts which finish first or second are essentially granted automatic entry into the Run for the Roses.
A maximum of 20 horses run in the Kentucky Derby each year, and for the most part, the slots are always filled. The horses that end up as the favorites to win the Kentucky Derby are the ones which win major Grade 1 races held in March and April. The only exception is the UAE Derby winner who almost always ends up being one of the longer shots on the board. To this day, no horse which won the UAE Derby has come anywhere near winning the Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby Winners (Since 2000)
| YEAR |
WINNER |
ODDS |
JOCKEY |
TRAINER |
TIME |
| 2019 |
Country House |
30.00 |
Flavien Prat |
Bill Mott |
2:03.93 |
| 2018 |
Justify |
2.90 |
Mike Smith |
Bob Baffert |
2:04.20 |
| 2017 |
Always Dreaming |
4.70 |
John Velazquez |
Todd Pletcher |
2:03.59 |
| 2016 |
Nyquist |
2.00 |
Mario Gutierrez |
Doug O'Neill |
2:01.31 |
| 2015 |
American Pharoah |
2.50 |
Victor Espinoza |
Bob Baffert |
2:03.02 |
| 2014 |
California Chrome |
2.50 |
Victor Espinoza |
Art Sherman |
2:03.66 |
| 2013 |
Orb |
5.00 |
Joel Rosario |
Shug McGaughey |
2:02.89 |
| 2012 |
I'll Have Another |
15.00 |
Mario Gutierrez |
Doug O'Neill |
2:01.83 |
| 2011 |
Animal Kingdom |
20.00 |
John Velazquez |
Graham Motion |
2:02.04 |
| 2010 |
Super Saver |
50.00 |
Calvin Borel |
Todd Pletcher |
2:04.45 |
| 2009 |
Mine That Bird |
8.00 |
Calvin Borel |
Bennie Woolley Jr. |
2:02.66 |
| 2008 |
Big Brown |
3.50 |
Kent Desormeaux |
Richard Dutrow |
2:01.82 |
| 2007 |
Street Sense |
4.50 |
Calvin Borel |
Carl Nafzger |
2:02.17 |
| 2006 |
Barbaro |
6.00 |
Edgar Prado |
Michael Matz |
2:01.36 |
| 2005 |
Giacomo |
50.30 |
Mike Smith |
John Shirreffs |
2:02.75 |
| 2004 |
Smarty Jones |
4.10 |
Stewart Elliott |
John Servis |
2:04.06 |
| 2003 |
Funny Cide |
12.80 |
Jose Santos |
Barclay Tagg |
2:01.19 |
| 2002 |
War Emblem |
20.50 |
Victor Espinoza |
Bob Baffert |
2:01.13 |
| 2001 |
Monarchos |
10.50 |
Jorge Chavez |
John Ward Jr. |
1:59.97 |
| 2000 |
Fusaichi Pegasus |
2.30 |
Kent Desormeaux |
Neil Drysdale |
2:01.00 |
Fastest Times in Kentucky Derby History
| YEAR |
HORSE |
TIME |
| 1973 |
Secretariat |
1:59.40 |
| 2001 |
Monarchos |
1:59.97 |
| 1964 |
Northern Dancer |
2:00.00 |
| 1985 |
Spend A Buck |
2:00.20 |
| 1962 |
Decidedly |
2:00.40 |
Running the Kentucky Derby in anything less than 2:01 or so is considered blazing fast. Secretariat has held the track record for nearly 50 years, running the 1973 Kentucky Debry in 1:59.40, and he is one of two horses to finish the race in under two hours. The last three winners couldn’t even crack 2:03.50, but the track was not optimal for each of those three races.
Longest Odds To Win the Kentucky Derby
| YEAR |
HORSE |
TIME |
| 1913 |
Donerail |
91.45 |
| 2005 |
Giacomo |
50.30 |
| 2010 |
Super Saver |
50 |
| 1940 |
Gallahadion |
35.20 |
| 1999 |
Charismatic |
31.30 |
The odds of a horse like Donerail winning the Kentucky Derby again are slim and none, but with the way these prices play themselves out, you never know. No one gave Country House much of a chance after favorites dominated the Kentucky Derby for the last five years, but he pulled off the biggest upset since Super Saver won in 2010 last year.
Most Jockey Wins in Kentucky Derby History
| JOCKEY |
WINS |
YEARS WON |
| Eddie Arcaro |
5 |
1938, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1952 |
| Bill Hartack |
5 |
1957, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1969 |
| Bill Shoemaker |
4 |
1955, 1959, 1965, 1986 |
| Angel Cordero Jr. |
3 |
1974, 1976, 1985 |
| Calvin Borel |
3 |
2007, 2009, 2010 |
| Earl Sande |
3 |
1923, 1925, 1930 |
| Gary Stevens |
3 |
1988, 1995, 1997 |
| Isaac Murphy |
3 |
1894, 1890, 1891 |
| Kent Desormeaux |
3 |
1998, 2000, 2008 |
| Victor Espinoza |
3 |
2002, 2014, 2015 |
It's becoming tougher and tougher for modern jockeys to have success in a race like this one, but there are a few who really stand out. Calvin Borel has made a living out of winning the Kentucky Derby with late-charging horses who love running on the rail. However, it's Victor Espinoza who is getting the most run now after winning with California Chrome in 2014 and American Pharoah in 2015.
Most Trainer Wins in Kentucky Derby History
| TRAINER |
WINS |
YEARS WON |
| Ben Jones |
6 |
1938, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1952 |
| Bob Baffert |
5 |
1997, 1998, 2002, 2015, 2018 |
| D. Wayne Lukas |
4 |
1988, 1995, 1996, 1999 |
| Herbert Thompson |
4 |
1921, 1926, 1932, 1933 |
If you thought it was tough to try to figure out which jockey was going to win the Kentucky Derby year in and year out, trying to pick the trainer is even harder. Of this list of four men who have won the Run for the Roses at least four times, only one is relatively modern in Bob Baffert. He has trained two winners recently, American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018.
When Doug O'Neill won the race with Nyquist in 2016 that ended a stretch of 13 consecutive years in which a different trainer won the Kentucky Derby. O'Neill also trained I'll Have Another in 2012.
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